


The Scar

by jmsnyder (nsyncgrrl)



Category: Suikoden I
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-17 10:55:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29099166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nsyncgrrl/pseuds/jmsnyder
Summary: This story takes place 11 years before the story of the game. Teague is the Hero, age 10, and Gremio is age 16. The bear mentioned is a product of Lady Wendy's magic.Yes, I know readers are polarized about the Hero's name. Sorry! It's the one I always use in RPGs (except LoZ).
Kudos: 1





	The Scar

The warm spring breeze that blew gently down the bustling streets of Gregminster set hearts aflame, and young Master Teague McDohl, General Teo McDohl's only son, burned with the need for adventure. A lad of merely 10 years, his days were filled all winter long with musty old books and tedious studies, and when the sun melted the last of the snow from the ground, Teague knew he had to get outside -- not just out of the house, but out of Gregminster itself. And so he cornered his friend and loyal servant, Gremio, who was working in the kitchens preparing his master's lunch. "Gremio," he whispered, stepping up close to the servant so none of the scuttle maids would overhear him. "How about we get out for a while?"

Gremio, a few years older than Teague, already knew his place in this world was at his master's side, but he also knew that he had chores to do, and that Teague had studies to attend to, and so he gently nudged Teague back from him with his elbow and replied, "Now young master, you know that there's a lot to be done today --"

But Teague's heart was set, and he brushed Gremio's protests aside. "Exactly!" he said, waving his arms wide. "The whole world awaits! Why, I hear tell of a man in the mountains who will give a Rune to one who journeys to him alone. A Rune, Gremio! One of the twenty-seven True Runes!"

Gremio wasn't impressed. "Master Teague, your lunch is almost ready and --"

"So we'll take it outside, have a picnic." With that Teague swept the food out of Gremio's hands. When the servant reached to take it back, Teague jumped back nimbly, and raced past his friend for the door. "Come, Gremio!" he cried. "The world awaits!"

"Young Master!" Exasperated, Gremio chased after Teague, knowing that whatever his orders were, he could never tell the boy no. "Master Teague, come back here!"

Teague's boyish laughter rang through the courtyard and down the crowded streets, and when Gremio caught sight of him he was leaning nonchalantly against the open gates of the city, munching on an apple. "Master Teague," Gremio began, slowing to catch his breath. "Come now, we have to get back."

"Aw, Gremio! Just a quick picnic!"

Gremio looked down at the dingy cobblestones and the people hurrying about. "Here? At the city gates?"

Teague nodded out past the gates, where the land opened up to a rolling meadow edged in by dense trees. "How about out there? It looks nice enough."

Gremio shook his head. "Oh no, not outside the city walls! You know what your father said --"

"He doesn't have to know." Before Gremio could protest further, Teague was outside the city, racing for the dark grass that grew deep beside the forest.

Sighing, Gremio trotted after his charge, praying under his breath that Commander Teo would linger at the Palace and not come home early to find his son outside of the city walls.

* * * *

Lying on his back in the cool grass, Teague watched the fluffy white clouds stretch lazily across the denim spring sky. Beside him Gremio sat straight-backed and cross-legged, wary and watchful. They were too far from the city gates, in his opinion, and too close to the still evergreens of the dense forest. But Teague seemed unperturbed and at peace, glad to be out from under the watchful gaze of his father, and because Gremio knew his place, he kept quiet. But his gaze never left the forest, where any number of dangers might lie in wait for his charge. If only they could start heading back to Gregminster …

"Gremio," Teague said, breaking into his servant's troubled thoughts.

"Yes, Young Master?" Gremio replied, turning his attention from the forest to the boy before him.

Teague rolled over on his side and picked at the grass. "Gremio," he sighed, exasperated. "I have a name, you know."

"I know that, Master Teague."

"Then why don't you use it? Even when we're alone?"

Gremio smiled. "Because your father would have my hide if he heard me address you by your common name. A servant doesn't speak to his master as a commoner -- there would be no respect then."

Teague sighed again. "But you're my friend, Gremio, not just a servant. Besides, you're my father's servant, not mine."

"Not true, Young Master. Your father gave me charge of you -- your studies, your health. I am to protect you with my life -- there is no greater service than that."

An evil gleam crept into Teague's eyes. "Then you'll obey me? If I were to give you a direct order? You'd have to listen?"

Warily, Gremio replied, "As long as it does not go against your father's rules. As long as you are not endangered … yes."

"Then call me Teague!" The boy jumped up with a laugh and tackled Gremio, knocking him back in the grass and tickling his stomach. Gremio laughed breathlessly, but before he could recover Teague was off and running, heading for the forest. He turned back and laughed at Gremio, an unspoken challenge to follow hanging in the air between them.

"Master Teague!" A twinge of fear crept into Gremio's voice. "I think we should start back --"

"Too late now, Gremio!" Teague called. "Come on! Just a quick walk in the woods -- what'll it hurt?"

Gremio pushed himself up and brushed the grass from his cape and leggings as he hurried after Teague. Maybe if he could catch up with him before he entered the forest --

Too late. Sighing heavily, Gremio pushed past the first of the evergreens and followed Teague into the forest.

* * * *

"Master Teague," Gremio began again, trying unsuccessfully to keep them from venturing further into the forest, "Maybe we should be heading back into town. Your father could return at any moment --"

Teague continued onward. "Nonsense, Gremio. You know as well as I do that the Emperor is planning war against the rebels to the north. He'll keep his generals up all night talking war games -- my father will never know we were here."

"Where is here, exactly?" Gremio glanced around them nervously. "I fear we may be lost."

"Gremio," Teague said, laughing. "We're not lost. I know where we are."

"And where is that, Young Master?" Before Teague could reply, Gremio added, "And don't say 'in the woods.' I know that."

Teague laughed again, but this time the light, boyish sound was drowned out by a deeper roar, and Gremio started, suddenly alert. Before them the trees shook threateningly, and as they parted Gremio pulled Teague back behind him, grabbing a fallen branch from the ground. "Stay back," he cautioned, brandishing the stick as a weapon. "When I say so, run."

"I can't leave you here," Teague whispered, but his words were lost in another rumbling roar that shook the very earth beneath their feet. The trees bent forward, their thick trunks snapping like twigs underfoot, and before them rose the largest bear either of them had ever seen. Its mottled black fur was dingy and tangled, and it stank of dead meat and carnage. Blood dripped from long curved claws and covered its muzzle. Its eyes were the dark black of night, deep and penetrating. And staring right at Gremio and Teague.

"Run!" Gremio said, pushing against Teague. But something in the boy made him stand still, behind his servant and friend, and when the bear rushed forward with a speed borne of magic, he stood his ground.

Gremio lashed out with the stick, cracking it against the snout of the huge monster, angering it. A large paw swatted the stick aside, knocking Gremio back with it, and his prone body knocked Teague off his feet. Dazed, Teague shook his head to clear it, and he pushed Gremio up slightly. The servant didn't respond.

"Gremio?" Teague asked, rolling his friend off of on top of him. Gremio's head lolled back, and Teague turned his face towards him. "Gremio?" That was when he noticed his hands and shirt were soaked in blood.

Gremio's cheek lay torn open, blood welling to the wound. Gremio's eyes were closed and each labored breath brought red bubbles to his nostrils. Suddenly Teague wished he had listened to the servant. He wished he had never ventured into the woods -- out of Gregminster, even -- and he knew that if they managed to get out of here alive, there was no way his father would not find out. He was dead for sure.

But he had to get out of this first. Behind him the bear roared again, uncertain at the smell of freshly spilled blood, but Teague knew it wouldn't be long before the bear came in to finish his kill. And he needed to get Gremio to a physician immediately. "Don't die on me," Teague whispered, grasping his servant's fallen staff in his hand. "If you're listening to me, Gremio, don't die. It's all I'll ever ask of you."

Rising to his feet, Teague turned to face the bear, staff in hand. Although he had never fought with a staff before, he knew that he would be foolish to attack a creature so much larger than himself. His best position was one of defense -- maybe he could hold the bear off long enough for it to tire, and it would leave them alone.

Then again, maybe not. Without warning, the bear leaped at him, and Teague had little time to raise the staff before the weight of the bear knocked him back. He held the staff tightly and rolled with the bear, managing to throw it over him and away from Gremio's still form. Standing quickly, Teague turned to face the animal again, when a voice called out to him from behind -- where the bear had been moments before. Confused, Teague turned around, and saw a boy his age standing behind him. Then the bear roared, and Teague turned again, cursing himself for being so easily distracted. Behind him, the boy yelled, "Leave them alone!"

Yeah, Teague thought. That'll work. Surprisingly, however, the bear cocked its head to the side, as if listening to something that Teague couldn't hear. He ventured another glance back at the boy, but the boy's attention was solely on the bear. "It's me you want," he said again. "Leave them alone and catch me if you can." The boy took off through the woods, back the way the bear had come.

Twenty yards off, the boy stopped and turned around, as if waiting for the bear to follow.

"You idiot!" Teague cried. "Run! Go get the Imperial Army -- tell them we need help!"

But the boy wasn't listening, and the bear seemed confused. It sniffed the air, scenting blood, and turned towards Teague. Suddenly a flash of black light streaked in front of the bear, a light so dense Teague's eyes ached to see it. Where the light struck the bear, thin tendrils of smoke curled up from the singed fur, and the bear reared back on its hind legs and roared. Teague followed the light to its source -- and it seemed to be coming from the boy's right hand.

The boy closed his hand into a fist, cutting off the light. The bear lost interest in its skirmish with Teague and raced after the boy. As it bounded past Teague, he could smell the rotted stench of its hide, and he felt an insane urge to hit it with his staff as it passed. But then the bear was gone, racing after that unfortunate boy, the boy who saved Gremio's life.

At his feet, Gremio moaned, and Teague gently lifted his servant's arms around his shoulders. "Can you walk, Gremio?" he asked, half dragging the poor lad. "Because I don't think I can carry you."

"Teague," Gremio slurred, his head falling against his young master's shoulder. Teague felt his tunic quickly become drenched with blood, and he tried to hurry. Gregminster was only a few yards away, just past the forest, but it seemed as if it were a hundred leagues, and weariness sank deep into Teague's limbs, an ache settling right between his shoulders. He hefted Gremio up a bit more and, a hand around his servant's waist, he tried to hurry up.

He didn't even notice that Gremio had used his common name.

* * * *

Teague staggered through the gates of the city, Gremio growing heavier in his arms by the step. The servant was barely conscious. Teague kept mumbling a litany of encouragement under his breath. "Almost there, few steps more, almost there." He had forgotten who it was supposed to encourage.

Sweat ran from his lank hair and stung his eyes, and his shoulders and arms were numb. The bustling crowds of the afternoon had thinned considerably, but no one offered to help the two exhausted lads. Teague managed to make it as far as the door to the Gregminster Inn before he fell to his knees, Gremio leaning heavily against his sore back. With what little strength remained in him, he managed to push open the heavy oaken door. "Marie?" he croaked, his throat parched.

From inside the inn someone screamed, and a startled voice pierced through his fading consciousness. "Teague?" And then Marie was there, the innkeeper herself, pulling Gremio from him and shepherding them into an empty room, away from the dining patrons. Wearily Teague watched as she laid Gremio down on the freshly made bed. She carefully cleaned his wound, raw in the lamplight. His skin shone like porcelain, whiter than his normally pale complexion. His blonde hair hung in damp locks, the color of wet ashes. Teague fought back tears of despair and exhaustion. "He's going to die, isn't he?" he asked in a small voice.

"Don't talk so, dear," Marie clucked, pulling out a needle and thread from the folds of her apron. "He's had quite a shock, but once we get him back together again he should be fine. The young mend easily."

Leaning back, Teague closed his eyes and sighed. If Gremio was going to be all right then maybe his father wouldn't have to find out. As long as Gremio was going to be okay --

Someone was shaking him. "Teague?" It was Marie, leaning over him.

"Gremio?" He must've fallen asleep. "How's he doing?"

Marie shook her head. "I've done all that I can. Now we'll just have to wait and see."

Teague looked past Marie to where Gremio still laid on the bed, his breath quick pants loud in the quiet room. Marie continued. "You're welcome to stay here --"

"No." Teague stood up, wobbly on his feet. His legs threatened to give out beneath him, but when they held steady he walked towards the bed. Reaching down, he lifted Gremio's still form gently, and was surprised at how weary and weak he felt with the servant's larger body weighted heavily in his arms. "I've got to get him home," he said, and Marie opened the door to let him go. "My father mustn't know."

"Don't know how you're going to keep it from him, child. That wound -- it'll scar."

Teague winced. Poor Gremio! His beautiful, handsome features would be forever marred because he tried to protect Teague. Even if Gremio forgave him, how could he ever forgive himself?

"Thank you, Marie," Teague said, shifting Gremio's weight in his arms. He hurried home, and prayed his father would not yet be there.

* * * *

Back in Gremio's room, Teague sat on the floor, his arms crossed on the bed before him, his head in his arms. Gremio lay on the bed -- he hadn't awakened since they left the inn, and Teague couldn't remember when the servant last said anything. His breathing was ragged and uneven, his skin cool to the touch. The only light came from the sconce in the hall -- Teague had left the door cracked slightly. Teague watched Gremio's chest rise and fall, and wondered how late his father would be.

Suddenly, Gremio started. Teague stood up and leaned over him, but his hand jerked up and knocked the boy back. Gremio moaned pitifully, and tossed his head from side to side. When Teague laid a hand against his forehead, he found it livid with fever. High spots of color rose in the servant's cheeks, and a cold sweat broke out, drenching his hair. The stitches in his cheek were dark and ugly against his pale skin. From out in the hall, Teague heard the front door of the house shut loudly, and measured bootheels clicked along the cobbled floor. His father was home.

Gremio moaned again, his eyelids fluttering wildly. Teague stood helplessly and watched as his friend's body shook, gripped with fever. If he stood here much longer, Gremio was bound to die! Without thinking Teague raced through the door and down the hall. Turning the corner into the foyer, he stopped breathlessly before the imposing figure of his father. Commander Teo looked down at his only son and grinned. "Rumor has it that two young boys were outside the city walls today," he drawled. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

Teague gulped and shook his head. "Father," he sobbed.

The smile on his father's face faded. "What is it, Teague?"

"It's Gremio," he said, hanging his head. "I don't think he'll make it."

Teo took his son's shoulders in his hands and looked into the boy's face. "What do you mean, Teague? What happened?"

But he couldn't answer. Tears he had fought to keep back spilled down his cheeks, and his shoulders shook silently. His oldest friend would die and it was all his fault! Without another word Teo released Teague and, brushing past him, strode down to Gremio's room. Teague followed wordlessly, his shoulders bent, his chin to his chest. He stood in the doorway as his father bent over Gremio's bed. "What happened here, Teague?" The steel in his father's voice demanded an answer.

Teague whispered, "We were attacked. In the woods. I'm sorry --"

Interrupting his son, Teo said, "We'll worry about that later. Right now I want you to go to the inn and ask for Liukan."

"The physician?" Teague raised his head slightly. "He's here in Gregminster?"

"Visiting the Emperor. Tell him it's urgent. Tell him I sent you." Teague nodded, the fire in his eyes returning. Liukan was the most well-known physician in the land -- surely he could help Gremio! Without another word he took off, racing out the house and through the streets of the town, back to the inn.

Gremio's life depended on it.

* * * *

Teague found Liukan in the dining room of the inn, finishing his evening meal. He was an older man who sat tall and proud, and at first Teague was afraid to approach him. But he thought of Gremio, lying back in his room near death, and he gathered his courage and approached the physician. Teague stood slightly behind his chair, and as if sensing his presence Liukan turned around. "Well?" he asked gruffly. "Come now, boy -- I haven't got all day."

Teague cleared his throat. "I come from Commander Teo. Our servant --" He cleared his throat again; "my friend is very ill. Could you help him?"

Liukan studied Teague, his eyes dark and piercing beneath his bushy eyebrows. Finally he said, "You're Teo's son, aren't you? The one who was attacked earlier today in the woods."

Teague nodded. Liukan rose from the table, picking up a black leather satchel resting at his feet. "I'll come."

Teague ran home, stopping every few yards to allow the physician to catch up with him before dashing off again. Back home his father waited for them outside of Gremio's door, and when Teague tried to follow the physician inside, his father stopped him. "Let him do his work, Teague. You go get some rest."

"I can't," Teague protested. "I have to make sure that Gremio will be all right."

"His fate rests in the hands of the best physician in the land." Commander Teo sighed. "You've had a long day -- you need to rest."

Again Teague shook his head. "Father," he began, "I'm sorry --"

"Never mind that now," Teo said. He looked at his son sadly. "You've learned your lesson, I'm sure. I only regret that it was learned at Gremio's expense."

Tears filled Teague's eyes. "I'll never disobey you again," he vowed. "I know it's too late for that now, but I swear to it."

Teo nodded. "Get some sleep," he whispered. Teague trudged up the stairs to his own room, sure that he would simply lay on the bed awake, staring into the darkness of his room, awaiting news of Gremio's health. But he didn't realize how exhausted he was, and the moment his head hit the pillow he was asleep.

* * * *

"Will the boy live?" Teo asked. He stood beside Liukan outside of Gremio's room, the closed door separating them from the topic of their discussion. The physician had spent most of the night in that room, working his medical magic. Now it was near dawn, with the first of the sun's rays beginning to slip into the hall. Teague would be up soon, and Teo wanted to have an answer to give his son when he asked about his friend's health.

Liukan shrugged his shoulders, exhaustion aging his face and stooping his back. "I can't say for certain," he replied. "These next few hours are crucial. If he is still alive when the sun sets, then he will live."

"And do you think --"

Liukan shook his head. "I am too tired to think right now. Let's just say that we need to be prepared." He heard Teague's footsteps on the stairs, and the look he gave Teo told the commander what he feared to say. "We all need to be prepared."

Teo nodded. When Teague came into the hall, his father motioned for his son to join him. Liukan nodded to the boy and then slipped past him, heading for a place to rest. "How's Gremio?" Teague asked, barely acknowledging the physician. He went to open Gremio's door. "How's he doing?"

With a gloved hand Teo held Gremio's door shut. "Teague," he began. This wasn't going to be easy. "Gremio was hurt badly --"

Teague's eyes went wide. "He's not --"

Teo shook his head. "Not yet, but --"

"Then don't talk like that!" Teague yelled. "He's going to be all right! He's going to be fine!"

"Teague --" Teo reached out for his son, but Teague ducked past his father and ran out of the hall. Teo could hear his son's sobs as he ran through the kitchen and out the back door. He sighed. What would become of Teague if Gremio didn't recover?

He's going to have to get better, Teo thought. He's just going to have to.

* * * *

In the garden behind the McDohl home Teague sat on the cold cobblestones, his knees pulled close to his chest, his head in his arms. Gremio had to get better, he thought stubbornly. He wouldn't allow himself to think any other way. Gremio had always been there for him -- he always would be.

A rustling in the bushes beside the cobbled walk brought Teague's head up. "Who's there?" he asked, sniffling. The bushes were pushed aside, and a boy came out onto the walk. "You!"

It was the boy from the forest, the one who drew the bear away from them. Teague stood up, wiping the tears from his face brusquely. "You're alive!"

The boy nodded. "I managed to lose the bear," he said, his eyes not meeting Teague's. "How's your friend?"

Teague sighed. "Not well, I'm told. But Gremio's a fighter -- he'll pull through."

The boy didn't look convinced. "That bear was a . . . creature of magic. The only way your friend will live is with magic."

"Well," Teague said, motioning back towards his home, "we've got Liukan in there. If anyone can help, it's him."

"But his cures aren't magical," the boy said. "He can create the best potions and salves, it's true, but one must fight magic with magic."

"Like you did?" The boy looked confused, and Teague ventured further. "That black light in the woods -- that was magic, wasn't it?"

The boy nodded. Teague asked, "Who are you? You don't look much older than me."

"My name is Ted," the boy said, holding out his hand. Teague looked at it cautiously, remembering the black light, and then offered his hand as well, thinking that if the boy was going to fight him he would've done so by now. "I come from the Warrior's Village."

"Wow!" Teague said, impressed. The Warrior's Village was far to the south of Gregminster -- Teague didn't know anyone from there. "What brings you here?"

"The war," Ted answered, looking back at Teague's house, a worried look playing across his face. "My parents were fighters in the Imperial Army, but they both died."

Teague didn't know what to say. "I'm sorry. So you live by yourself?"

Ted nodded. "I was living in the forest, until that bear attacked. After I saw what it did to your friend, I thought I'd better stay within the city walls. But it's hard to find a place to stay at night --"

"You can stay here." Teague started to walk back towards his home, motioning for Ted to follow. "We have plenty of rooms, and I'm sure my father won't mind. He's gone a lot because of the war."

Inside Teague told Ted to wait in the hallway while he found his father. When Teague slipped around a corner, Ted's gaze rested on the closed door of Gremio's room. Moving quickly, he opened the door and slid inside, closing it gently behind him. The room was dark, lit by a single candle, and the still figure on the bed moaned in pain. The wound on his cheek stood out lividly against his pale skin, and Ted could see the telltale red scratches of infection running down the servant's neck and beneath the covers, racing for the boy's heart.

He had come just in time.

Acting quickly, Ted concentrated on the SoulEater, the Cursed Rune embedded in the palm of his right hand. Black light poured forth from his hand, illuminating the edges of the Rune in his skin, and flowed thickly into the room, covering first the floor, then the bed, and finally the servant lying on the bed. The SoulEater entered Gremio through the wound on his cheek, running through his tainted veins and destroying the death within him, replacing it with some of the Rune's own life force.

Behind him he heard Teague returning to the hall. Even as he heard his name called, the Rune's task was finished, and the light pulled back into the confines of the Rune, back into Ted. On the bed Gremio had stopped his thrashing and moaning -- the sweat on his forehead began to cool, his fever broken, and the lines in his brow evened out. Even the edges of his wound were pulling together, mending around the thick stitches, the angry welt smoothing out into a pink scar.

In the hall stood Teague and his father. They looked up, surprised, when Ted opened the door to Gremio's room. "Ted!" Teague cried, alarmed.

Ted shook his head and put a finger to his lips. "Your friend," he said, motioning towards the bed. "I think he's better."

Teo frowned, but Teague raced into the room, breathless. "Gremio!" he cried, and his friend's eyelids fluttered briefly before opening.

"Master Teague?" Gremio asked, his voice low. "What happened?"

"Gremio!" Teague hugged the startled servant close, mindful of the newly healing wound.

* * * *

Behind them Liukan stood in the doorway, perplexed. Teo turned around and shrugged. "You've worked a miracle," he told the physician.

Liukan shook his head. "'Tis not my miracle, commander. My herbs did not do this."

Teo frowned. "Then what --"

"I don't know," Liukan muttered. "But whatever it was, it proved one thing."

"What's that?"

"That my healing powers are useless." He held up a hand, cutting off Teo's protest. "I could not save that boy. Why not? It was a simple wound -- deep and badly sewn, but simple nonetheless. My potion should have stopped the infection, should have broken the fever."

"How do you know it didn't?"

Liukan smiled. "Because I know my potions, commander. I know how they work, what they're supposed to do. And healing a deep wound in a few hours isn't one of the side effects."

Teo frowned. "Just because your potions didn't work this time doesn't mean they are useless."

"To me," Liukan said, gathering his vials and bottles together from the desk. He pushed them roughly into his black satchel. "To me, that's exactly what it means."

Teo watched his son, happily filling his weary servant in on the adventure in the woods, and the physician slipped silently from the house. Ted stood to one side of the commander, and kept quiet. Teague would find out soon enough, he thought, closing his palm around the etched edges of the Rune. Soon, the SoulEater and it's curse would be his. It was fate.


End file.
